A 5th Edition to remember.
On July 2nd in Auronzo di Cadore, the Dolomites (Italy), The North Face® team successfully reached a multi-podium at The North Face® Lavaredo Ultra Trail. Sebastien Chaigneau (FRA) and Fernanda Maciel (BRA) takes the first place men’s and women’s titles, whilst Zigor Iturrieta (ESP) claims the second.

Under a cold, clear, star-studded night sky, 506 highly trained ultra-runners from 20 countries started out at midnight on Saturday July 2nd 2011 to run one of Europe’s most stunning and technical ultra races – The North Face® Lavaredo Ultra Trail 2011.

Running a certified distance of 87km trail at the heart of the Italian Dolomites, with an accumulated positive height gain of 5,300m, the course took runners to the foot of the impressive Tre Cime peaks and opened the day in a blaze of sunshine.

The North Face® athlete and victor Sebastien Chaigneau led the front of the pack from the start. Running 80% of the race alone, Chaigneau’s remarkable finishing time of 09h:29m:51s set a new course record, beating the previous time by more than one-and-a-half hours.

Ecstatic at his result, Chaigneau exclaimed: “The first part I started really slowly with Zigor, but after 20km I preferred to make my speed and make my race. The second part was hard and technical in amazing nature. I took time in the descents and after the halfway point I took a lot of pleasure from my natural surroundings. I made it my race, enjoying the technicality of the course and the visual, hard raw nature around me. It was an incredible race – and the first for Willow, my newly-born daughter.”

The North Face® athlete Zigor Iturrieta finished in a time of 10h:05m:49s, gaining a well-deserved 2nd place. “The first part I had stomach problems, but after 45km things got better, despite the cold night. The ascents were hard but I increased my lead on the descents. I enjoyed the course – highly technical with a mix of rocks, single tracks in beautiful nature,” stated Iturrieta. Marco Gazzola (SUI) claimed 3rd place in a time of 10h:30m:06s.

From a field of 51 women, The North Face® athlete Fernanda Maciel, took the 1st place victory in a time of 12h:45m:24s. Crossing the finish line with team-mates Chaigneau and Iturrieta, Maciel was greeted with huge applause from the crowds. “It was incredible. A mix of trails in beautiful scenery with forest and lakes. A very technical course, I relaxed in a good rhythm and enjoyed the whole experience.” Crossing the finish line together 35 minutes after Maciel, Alessandra Carlini (ITA) and Giovanna Cavalli (ITA) claimed joint second place with a time of 13h:21m:01s.

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Credits
Athletes: Sebastien Chaigneau – Zigor Izturrieta – Fernanda Maciel
Photographer: Dan Milner and Tristan Shu
Location: Lavaredo, Dolomites – Italy